The invention relates generally to a carrier system and method usable with a vehicle for handling cargo, and more particularly to a carrier system and method that provides a level and contiguous surface with the bed of the vehicle and extends out the back of the vehicle for easier handling of the cargo.
Vehicles are often used to transport cargo which can take many forms. For the purposes of this application, cargo is used to refer to inanimate items as well as animals. Cargo can range from smaller sizes to larger sizes. Many vehicles have a cargo bed extending from the back of the vehicle to a more forward position. Cargo may be placed on the bed for transport and if needed, secured in position with straps or other devices. The back of the vehicle has a door or doors which, when opened, allow access to the cargo bed for handling the cargo as needed. Cargo may be both loaded onto the cargo bed or removed from the cargo bed and the vehicle through the back door.
Full size vans, minivans, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), hatchbacks, delivery vans, utility vehicles, work trucks, pick-up trucks, and station wagons are just a few examples of vehicles with cargo beds. A cross-over utility vehicle example is the Audi® Q7 TDI. This vehicle has a cargo bed that is accessible through the vehicle's rear door by opening the rear door in an upward direction. Cargo beds are also similarly present in many non-motorized vehicles, such as U-Haul® trailers.
Regardless of vehicle size, loading and unloading cargo into the vehicle's cargo bed can be difficult. Heavy cargo can be hard to handle, especially if it is bulky. A vehicle with a protruding bumper may obstruct an operator from standing straight up when accessing the cargo bed which requires the operator to bend over to load something onto the cargo bed or to pull something off the cargo bed. Bending in this way puts stress on the operator's lower back which may strain the lower back and or potentially cause more serious injury. A structure that allows for an exterior resting surface extending out the back of the vehicle that is flush with the interior surface of the vehicle would help facilitate the moving of cargo in and out of the vehicle. The exterior resting surface allows for cargo to be pulled and slid from inside the interior cargo area of the vehicle to the exterior resting surface outside of the vehicle before being lifted and carried away either from the left, from the right, or from the back of the vehicle.
This problem also applies to animals, such as pets, that are transported in a vehicle. When transporting dogs in the car, young and healthy dogs are generally able to jump in and out of the car without significant risk of injury; however older, injured, and smaller dogs cannot jump in and out of the car without significant risk of injury. Therefore, in many cases it is necessary for the owner to manually lift the dog into and out of the car to prevent injury from jumping. Picking up a dog from the ground to put it into the car and taking it from the car and putting it down on the ground can be quite a burden for both the dog and the owner. This burden is magnified when the lifting process is done several times per day and further magnified when the dog is heavy or squirms a lot when being lifted.
Many people cannot lift their dogs because of age, injury, lack of physical strength, or other physical limitations, as well as fear of injuring themselves from lifting, fear of injuring the dog from dropping it during the lifting process, the difficulty of lifting a squirming dog, or fear of dirtying their clothing from lifting the dog. It is particularly difficult to lift and carry heavy dogs to and from the ground because holding the dog requires the owner to be bent over when lifting, which is very stressful on the lower back. A protruding bumper can make it more difficult to get into the proper position to both gently lift the dog from the cargo area as well as gently place the dog into the cargo area of a vehicle. Being out of proper position can make lifting more stressful for the back of the owner and more difficult to get a secure hold on the dog. It would be much better for both the owner and the dog if the owner never had to lift the dog to get it into and out of the vehicle.
When transporting dogs in the car, older, injured, or smaller dogs should not be allowed to jump in and out of the car because of the significant risk of injury. Older dogs develop progressive physical limitations as they age which makes jumping more difficult and dangerous. Injured dogs cannot jump at all for obvious reasons, and smaller healthy dogs cannot safely jump the distances necessary to get into and out of the car. The risk of injury to a dog from jumping into and out of a car increases exponentially as the height required to jump into and out of the car increases. Cars that are higher off the ground, such as larger SUVs, are much more difficult and dangerous for a dog to jump into and out of than cars that are lower to the ground, such as station wagons. The risk of injury to a dog from jumping into and out of the car increases significantly as the dog's age increases.
Jumping into the vehicle requires the dog to explode off its back legs to gain the height necessary to get in the vehicle, which can put a tremendous amount of stress on the dog's hips, knees, and knee ligaments. This type of explosive leap can have terrible degenerative effects on a dog's joints and ligaments over time, can lead to significant injuries at any time, and can greatly exacerbate existing injuries. Jumping into the car can cause muscle tears, exacerbate arthritis, cause torn knee ligaments, cause hip injuries, and accelerate conditions such as hip dysplasia. Explosive leaps can be particularly dangerous from a cold start when the dog is not warmed up, as well as from a fatigued start when a dog is tired from exercising.
Jumping out of a vehicle requires the dog to sustain repeated high force compressions on the joints of the front paws, ankles, elbows, shoulders, neck, and back. This type of jumping can have terrible degenerative effects on the dog's joints and disks over time, can lead to significant injuries at any time, and can greatly exacerbate existing injuries. Jumping out of the vehicle can cause muscle tears, exacerbate arthritis, cause ankle injuries, cause elbow injuries, cause shoulder injuries, cause back injuries, and cause neck injuries. Jumping can be particularly dangerous from a cold start when the dog is not warmed up, as well as from a fatigued start when a dog is tired from exercising. As a result, as dogs get older or are injured the simple task of jumping into and out of the car can become too physically demanding and can become a very dangerous health risk Eliminating jumping into and out of the car prevents injuries to the dog, significantly increases the dog's quality of life, improves the dog's mental health, and greatly increases the dog's longevity. It would be much better for both the owner and the dog if the dog never had to jump to get into and out of the car.
If the dog cannot jump into and out of the car and the owner cannot lift the dog into and out of the car, it can seem as though it is impossible to take the dog anywhere. Therefore, some owners tend to leave their older or injured dogs at home alone as a result of the difficulties and risks of getting the dog into and out of the car. For many pets, being left alone can result in depression and loneliness. Dogs would much prefer to be with their owners in the car than left at home. Older or injured dogs that cannot exercise or play as they used to, find the process of riding in a vehicle to be a very enjoyable and exciting experience. Riding in the car can be one of an older or injured dog's last great pleasures and greatly increases its quality of life. Also the ability to take an older or injured dog to new places safely and easily greatly enhances its quality of life.
Providing a better method to get a dog into and out of a vehicle would enable a pet owner to bring the dog on more trips, eliminate the possibility of injury to the owner and the dog while getting the dog into and out of the vehicle, greatly increase the dog's quality of life, and enhance the dog's mental health. A structure used to get a dog into and out of a vehicle that is relatively easy to deploy, use, and store would make the pet owner more inclined to take the pet in the vehicle. Both pet and owner would derive benefit from such a system.
Ramps are well-known structures and are often used to facilitate the loading and unloading process for a vehicle. A ramp is typically defined as a flat supporting surface that can be tilted at an angle, with one end higher than the other. It is used as an aid for raising or lowering a load and is also referred to as an inclined plane. The advantage of using a ramp for loading cargo into a vehicle is the ramp provides an angled flat surface from the ground to the interior cargo area of the vehicle. Creating an angled flat surface is particularly valuable in the case of a dog that can walk on its own because the ramp allows the dog to walk into and out of the car which eliminates the need for the owner to lift the dog into and out of the car as well as eliminates the need for the dog to jump into and out of the car. This can be a tremendous advantage for both pets and pet owners.
The ramp's slope angle has a big impact on how difficult it is for the pet to walk up and down the ramp, so reducing the slope angle is very beneficial. The two most important factors that impact the ramp's slope angle are the ramp length and the height difference between the ramp's top resting surface and the ramp's ground resting surface. Increasing the ramp length and reducing the height difference between the top and ground ramp resting surfaces make using the ramp much easier for the dog. It is important to note that many times when using a ramp that is oriented perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of a car, there is a curb present which raises the ground height relative to the side of the car above the ground height of the street where the car is parked. As a result, when using a ramp perpendicularly to a vehicle when there is a curb present, the height difference between the top and ground resting surfaces of the ramp can be significantly reduced which consequently reduces the ramp slope angle. This is a major benefit for using a ramp perpendicularly to the vehicle.
Creating an angled flat surface with a ramp also allows cargo to be rolled into a vehicle as opposed to lifted which allows the user to manage much heavier loads at once and to do so much more quickly and safely. Although rolling cargo up a ramp incline requires work, it is typically much less strenuous than lifting. The ramp slope angle has a big impact on the amount of work required to roll cargo up and down the ramp so reducing the slope angle of the ramp is very beneficial. The two most important factors that impact the ramp slope angle are the ramp length and the height difference between the ramp's top resting surface and the ground resting surface. Maximizing the ramp length and minimizing the height difference between the top and ground ramp resting surfaces makes rolling cargo in and out of the vehicle easier.
Ramps come in many forms, many lengths, and have different design features which lend themselves to different applications. Ramps typically have an angled top resting surface to make transitioning to the ramp smoother as well as to facilitate a more secure resting profile. Ramps typically have a height of several inches so that when deployed on a flat surface the ramp surface is several inches above the flat surface. Typically, the part of the ramp that comes into contact with a resting surface has a non-slippery surface such as one formed of rubber which creates a higher friction coefficient between the ramp and the surfaces with which it connects. This friction provides a grip between the ramp and the resting surfaces which tends to restrict relative motion. Making sure the ramp does not move while in use can be critical for the safe use of a ramp. Risks that could lead to a ramp moving while in use are from the ramp tilting over to either side as a result of not resting on a flat, secure, level, and stable surface, the ramp sliding off the lower resting surface as a result of a slippery connection with the ground and/or upper resting surface, the ramp sliding off the upper resting surface as a result of the absence of a safety lip on that resting surface, or the ramp falling to the ground as a result of a resting surface failure.
A ramp resting on flat stable surfaces at both the upper end and the lower end and used with a dog under general use conditions is secure enough so as not to move when in use. The forces of gravity and the force of friction will keep the ramp steady. Under general use conditions with a dog it is not necessary to secure the ramp with any special anchoring system, however a safety feature in the form of a raised tongue on the outside perimeter of the resting platform at the upper end of the ramp eliminates the small risk of the ramp sliding off the resting surface while in use. In some cases, such as when rolling cargo into the vehicle, the process of using the ramp may have more risk than general use conditions with a dog and it is necessary to have a secure anchoring mechanism connecting the ramp and the resting surface to provide more robust protection against the ramp moving while in use.
When using a ramp with a vehicle there are several difficulties that present themselves. These include the difficulty of finding a flat, stable, and secure resting surface in the vehicle for the ramp to rest on, the difficulty of finding a way the ramp can be used perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of a vehicle in addition to parallel to the vehicle, the difficulty of finding a way to reduce the slope angle of the ramp, and the difficulty of finding a way to smooth the transition to the ramp from the vehicle's interior surface. When using a ramp with a vehicle the rear door entrance is the only practical option for accessing the cargo area. The back side doors of most cars do not open wide enough to allow a ramp with modest width to rest perpendicularly to the car which makes it impossible to access a secure and stable resting surface for the ramp inside the car. The front doors typically open wide enough for the ramp to rest perpendicularly however the top of the ramp must rest on the front seat of the car which is not a stable, level, and flat surface. Further, in order to exit the car from the front door, the dog must transition from the rear of the car through the area between the front seats to the front seat and then to the ramp which can be difficult and dangerous for older or injured dogs.
The rear door of a vehicle in most cases spans the width of the entire vehicle as well as opens either up or to the side which creates an open space in the vehicle that is wide enough to accommodate the width of the ramp and an open space behind the vehicle that is not blocked by the door itself. When using a ramp through the rear door opening of a vehicle, the user rests the top of the ramp on the interior surface of the vehicle's cargo area and the rear of the ramp behind the vehicle on the ground so that the ramp is resting out the back of the vehicle parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. There are several drawbacks to this method. Firstly, if there is another car parked behind the vehicle or another obstruction behind the vehicle, then it is not possible to deploy a ramp out the rear of the vehicle. Secondly, when the ramp rests on the interior cargo surface of the vehicle the ramp surface is several inches above the interior cargo surface which creates a non-flush transition to the ramp and increases the ramp slope angle. A non-flush transition and increased slope angle makes using the ramp much more strenuous as well as dangerous for the dog.
Thirdly, it is not possible to rest the ramp below the vehicle's interior surface height because of the interior construction of the vehicle. This makes it impossible to create a smooth transition to the ramp as well as limits the ability to reduce the ramp slope angle. Fourthly, many times the surface at the entrance to the interior cargo area of a vehicle is designed so that it is not completely flat or completely level in order to facilitate the loading and unloading of cargo; however, this makes the resting surface less secure and less safe for using a ramp. Fifthly, the ramp can only be deployed when the rear door is open and cannot remain deployed when the rear door is closed. Sixthly, the ramp cannot be used in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle at the back of the vehicle because the rear of the vehicle does not have a stable ramp resting surface which is perpendicular to the back of the vehicle and accessible from the side of the vehicle.
A structure mounted to the back of the vehicle that includes secure ramp resting surfaces on its side perimeter and enables a stable flat contiguous exterior surface that extends out the back of a vehicle that is flush with the interior of the vehicle would facilitate, enhance, and improve the use of a ramp from the back of a parked vehicle. Such a structure would allow for a ramp to be deployed perpendicularly to the right, perpendicularly to the left, or parallel to the back of a parked vehicle. Such a structure would provide a safe and easy transition method from the interior surface of the vehicle to any of the potential ramp resting positions off the contiguous exterior surface. Such a structure would allow the ramp to be rested at a position below the interior surface level so that the top surface of the ramp is level with the interior surface of the vehicle which smoothens the transition to the ramp from the interior surface and lowers the slope angle of the ramp. Such a structure would allow the ramp to remain deployed whether the rear door is closed or open.
When storing a ramp in a vehicle while driving there are several key issues that present themselves. The first issue is finding an easy, convenient, and non-obstructive place to store the ramp while driving. When storing a ramp in the vehicle cargo area it can either be stored lying flat on its top or stored standing up on its side. If the ramp is stored lying flat on its top it can easily take up over half the usable surface area of the cargo area which significantly restricts the amount of space available for other cargo. When travelling with a dog or dogs in the vehicle they typically require a lot of open space to sit down, move around, and be comfortable. It may be that there is not enough space in the vehicle's cargo area to accommodate both the ramp lying flat and a comfortable riding space for the dog or dogs. In addition, it may not be safe for the dog to ride in the cargo area with a ramp lying flat because the dog could hit or fall on the ramp while driving and hurt itself. Further, if the ramp is stored lying flat additional cargo cannot be stored on top of the ramp because the ramp must but be reasonably accessible for deployment when the vehicle is stopped. If the ramp is stored lying on its side, it does not take up nearly as much surface area as it does if it is lying flat however it must be very well secured so it does not fall over or move while driving as well as so it does not make extremely annoying rattling noises while driving. Securing the ramp when it is lying on its side in the back of the vehicle requires the user to bend inside of the vehicle and strap the ramp to the side of the vehicle which can take time, be quite tedious, and be strenuous on the lower back. Further, even with the best effort it can be quite difficult to secure the ramp tightly enough to totally restrict its movement under the vibration and other forces that are typical in a moving vehicle. Further, when the ramp vibrates it can make very annoying rattling noises.
The second issue associated with storing a ramp in the vehicle is the process of securing the ramp in the vehicle, unsecuring the ramp from the vehicle, lifting the ramp in the vehicle, lifting the ramp out of the vehicle, deploying the ramp for use, and breaking down the ramp for storage. All of these can get quite cumbersome so anything that can simplify, minimize, and ease these processes would be a benefit.
The third issue associated with storing a ramp in a car is that ramps can get dirty during use and storing the ramp in the car can transfer that dirt into the car. Some commercial trucks have a ramp and a ramp storage area built into the rear of the truck beneath the cargo bed. The ramp is merely pulled out of the back, the front end lifted into the anchor position, and in just a few minutes, the ramp is fully mounted to the vehicle and ready for use. When the vehicle must be driven, the ramp is simply unhooked from the anchor position and slid back into the ramp storage area. It is locked there and the vehicle may be driven. This storage process can be completed in less than two minutes. However, many vehicles, such as passenger vehicles including minivans and utility vehicles do not have a built-in ramp system such as this. The ramp must be stored elsewhere. A structure that would allow for the easy storage of a ramp in a passenger vehicle as well as one that reduces the effort involved in deploying the ramp from a passenger vehicle would be of benefit.
There are many pastimes for which people use their vehicles including camping, tailgating, and hunting. When using a vehicle while engaging in pastimes, many people work or operate out of the backs of their vehicles. When working or operating out of the back of a vehicle it is necessary to have available surface space to place and rest gear, equipment, or any number of things. The interior cargo area of the vehicle can serve this purpose however there are several drawbacks with this method. First, if the cargo area of the vehicle is fully loaded then some of the cargo must be removed from the vehicle to make open surface space available for working or operating. Removing the cargo from the vehicle to make available surface space can be a hassle, can be physically demanding, and requires cargo to be placed somewhere else such as on the ground which could get the cargo dirty. Second, when working out of the back of a vehicle's cargo area, the surface can only be accessed from directly behind the vehicle and cannot be accessed from the side of the vehicle. Third, when working or operating out of a vehicle's cargo area it is necessary to bend over and lean in to access things on the vehicle cargo area surface which can be strenuous on the lower back. This is magnified if there is a protruding bumper.
Fourth, many times when working or operating out of the back of a vehicle the amount of surface space available for use is not enough to cover the requirements of the task at hand. Fifth, many times while working or operating out of the back of a vehicle a mess can be made or an accident can happen that would not be wanted in the interior surface of the vehicle. An accident or mess in the interior surface of the vehicle can be difficult to clean, can complicate using the space for other cargo, could make driving in the vehicle uncomfortable for passengers because of odor, and may cause long term damage to the vehicle.
A structure that allows for a convertible stable contiguous exterior surface out the back of the vehicle that is flush with the interior of the vehicle would provide significant additional exterior surface space out the back of the vehicle that is easy to access and which could be used to facilitate working or operating from while engaged in pastimes. A structure that allows for a convertible contiguous exterior surface that extends out the back of the vehicle would allow users unrestricted access to work and operate from the right side of the exterior surface, the left side of the exterior surface, and the back of the exterior surface. The ability to operate from all three sides of the surface greatly improves the utility and the usability of the surface as well as eases the need to bend over while accessing things on the surface which reduces strain on the lower back. The more exterior surface space out the back of the vehicle that is available to use when working or operating then the greater the utility and usability of the exterior surface area. Additional surface extensions that allow for the expansion of the main contiguous exterior surface would be a benefit. The more placement options that are available for additional surface extensions then the greater the flexibility and use options when working or operating from the back of a vehicle while engaged in pastimes. A convertible contiguous exterior surface could be hosed off and easily washed which would be handy when managing messes and accidents.
Hence, those of skill in the art have recognized a need for an improved system and method of loading and unloading cargo from a vehicle. A need is also recognized for an improved system of loading and unloading living cargo, including pets, into and out of a vehicle easily and safely using a ramp, and of storing the ramp for ready access during the loading and unloading process. A need is further recognized for an improved system that allows cargo to be moved sideways into and out of the cargo bed of the vehicle, such as from a sidewalk. The present invention meets these needs and other needs.